A New Man
by bajbhdkn
Summary: I'll only tell you that it involves Spike. Any more would give too much away. Just know that my story has a concept that has never been used in a Buffy fanfiction story before. Takes place after 'Normal Again'.
1. Not A Part Of Her Life

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Joss Whedon does.  
  
Takes place after 'Normal Again' Absolutely nothing in episodes after that have happened in this story.  
  
Chapter 1: Not A Part Of Her Life  
  
'Not a part of her life, huh! Fine! Then I'll just get out of her bloody life!' Spike thought angrily as he started to pack his things. He was going to leave Sunnydale for good this time. He was sick and tired of being used by the Slayer for sex. He had wanted her to love him, but she didn't. He was a just a sex toy to her. An evil souless sex toy.  
  
When they had kissed for the first time, Spike felt like he was on top of the world. Until she told him that it was a mistake and it would never happen again. But it did. And again she told him that it had meant nothing to her, but it had meant the world to him. She told him that they couldn't be together because he was evil. He told her he could change for her, but she didn't believe him. She hit him and he hit her back. That's when he found out the chip didn't work on Buffy anymore.  
  
He told her that she came back wrong, that maybe she was not a human anymore. It was mean, and he knew it, but he was only repeating the same things that she had said to him. He wanted her to feel hurt the way he had. They started a really big physical fight that ended with her kissing him (not because she loved him like he wanted; she did it to shut him up). They fell down through the building and shagged for the first time.  
  
Spike thought maybe he was getting somewhere, that he was finally reaching her. But he wasn't. He made the mistake of telling her that the only thing better than killing a slayer was shagging one. OK, bad move. But she wasn't exactly saying the nicest things to him either. She told him that she was disgusted with herself for sleeping with him.  
  
Even after he took Dawn to the hospital after Willow almost killed her in a car wreck, she still saw him as a worthless souless being who wasn't good enough to love, but was still good enough to shag while she was invisible. He eventually kicked her out, saying that she was only there because she wasn't there, and that's not the kind of relationship he wanted. And yet they still shagged each other again and again. One time after sex, instead of running away disgusted, they actually started having a nice conversation, until he called her an animal. He didn't really mean to hurt her, but he did.  
  
Soon after that he had seen her at the Bronze standing by herself, just watching her friends. He told her that she belonged him in the dark, and that she didn't belong with them. And he said, "What would they think of you if they knew..." He knew that she wasn't telling her friends about them because she was ashamed of him and thought her friends were going to look down on her. And even if she did learn to love him, she would still end up turning him away because of her friends. He wanted her and was afraid of losing her. Not good excuses, but hey he is a vampire, and his chip now works on Buffy. Instead of telling her that she should be in the dark with him, he could have turned her, forcing her to be in the dark with him. But he didn't.  
  
After Buffy thought she had commited a murder, Buffy wanted to turn herself in. But Spike didn't want her too. He hid the body, and tried to convince her to go to the police. Spike thought he was doing the right thing. He didn't want her to throw her life away, just because of a murder that even if she did commit, was just an accident. She told him that he didn't undserstand, that it was one more dead body to him. He asked her to explain it to him, but instead of explaining, she beat him. She kept punching him in the eye over and over again. When she was done, he could barely open his eye or see. Then she just left him there. If he hadn't have been able to get himself back to his crypt, he would have been dust when the sun came up. And either Buffy didn't think about that or didn't care. (Or she may have rightfully assumed that he was still capable of getting himself back home, but why not better safe than sorry?)  
  
Spike knew that Buffy needed more money to help support herself and Dawn. Spike wanted to help, but it wasn't as if he could go out and get a real job. So he decided to sell demon eggs on the black market. He didn't know that eggs were going to kill a lot of innocent people. Heck he didn't even know that he had to keep the eggs frozen. After Buffy had blown up the bottom level of his crypt, (with the help of her ex-boyfriend Riley, who Spike liked to call Captain Cardboard) she dumped him. But it wasn't because of the eggs. She finally admitted to using him, and said that she could do that anymore because it was killing her, not that she couldn't use him because it was wrong to hurt him that way.  
  
He showed up at Anya and Xander's non-wedding with a date to make Buffy jealous. It worked, but he couldn't help but feel a little bad about hurting her. They actually had a civil conversation there and it looked to Spike, like even if the couldn't be lovers, maybe they could still be friends. But even that hope was shattered in the cemetary. While they were talking Xander and Willow show up, and Buffy tells them that she was only talking with Spike to find out what trouble he was getting himself into. Not only could she not admit to her friends that they had sex, but she didn't even want to be seen being friendly with him.  
  
While Xander and Spike were fighting, Buffy collapsed on the floor due to those nerds making her think she was in the mental hospital. Spike wanted to bring her back to his crypt to help but Xander told him that they would take care of her because "we're her friends". Spike wasn't Buffy's lover or boyfriend; he wasn't even her friend.  
  
But they still needed him to collect the demon the nerds had summoned. After Spike and Xander had the demon tied up in the basement, he went to her room to see her. That was when she told him that he wasn't a part of his life. It hurt him, and that was why he was leaving Sunnydale for good. There was nothing left for him here. Except for Dawn. He would just have to find a way to say good-bye to her without seeing Buffy again. It was just too painful for him.  
  
  
  
Author's Note: As you can see, not much happens in this chapter. Basically it's a review of some events in Season 6. These events are going through Spike's mind as he packs. That's one of the main reasons it's a little one sided in Spike's favor. Even though it mentions some of the things Spike shouldn't have done, it obviously makes the reader feel more for Spike. I think that both Spike and Buffy did some bad things to each other last season, I don't really know who I think was worse. (Well, I thought it was Buffy until 'Normal Again', but then after 'Entropy' and 'Seeing Red'... But as already stated, the events of the last two mentioned episodes do not occur. Therefore no AR and Tara stays alive.) If you want to find out how Buffy and Dawn will react to Spike's departure, read on. 


	2. Goodbye To You

Chapter 2: Goodbye To You  
  
Spike was all packed and ready to go when Buffy burst into the crypt. "What are you doing here, Slayer?" he asked angrily. Buffy looked at him confused. She didn't know why he was upset. "I was just going to see if you wanted to patrol with me tonight, but I see you're in a really bad mood so...and why is that so funny?" she asked when she noticed that he had started to laugh. "I just think that's it's bloody funny, you coming in here, asking me to help you, when I'm not even a part of your life." 'So that's why he's upset' Buffy finally realized.  
  
She didn't think she had to apologize to the blood-sucker. "Look, Spike," she said calmly. "You know I was infected by a demon and I was really not myself that day. I didn't mean it." Spike didn't believe her. "Yes you did. You..." "Spike, I tied my friends up in the basement and tried to let that demon kill them. So you have to believe me when I say that I was really messed up and doing and saying things I didn't mean."  
  
"Why do you care, Buffy? Why do you even give a bleedin' care if I believe you or not? Because you need my muscles to help fight the bad guys? Or is it because you still need my penis to make you feel alive?" Buffy tried to control herself to not lash out at him (verbally or physically). "No because...I think that maybe we could be friends." "Friends? Right, we're friends. Until the minute your real friends show up and you go back to treating me like an evil disgusting creature. Sorry, no thanks. That's just not the kind of friend that I want to have."  
  
It was then that Buffy finally realized that he had packed some of his belongings in bags that were sitting right in front of them. "Are you leaving?" she asked him. "Bloody right, I'm leavin'. So there will be no more chances to play 'kick the Spike' again." "Where will you go?" "I don't know. And even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you." "What are you planning on doing with your life..er ..unlife?" "I dunno. Maybe I'll get the chip out and start killing again. That's what all of you expect anyway. Or maybe I'll get the chip out and still be a good boy; prove the lot of you all wrong." "And how do you expect to do that if you're not here to prove us wrong?"  
  
Buffy had a good point, but he wasn't going to admit that. "Look, Slayer. I'm getting out of here tonight. There is nothing you can say to me that will make me change my mind. ('Except I love you, but I know that's not gonna happen.') I have no reason to stay here." "What about Dawn? You promised me that you would protect her until the end of the world." "She's a big girl now. I don't think she needs my protection anymore." "What about your friendship" "I'll write to her. And yes I was planning on telling her good-bye. And I'm going to do that right now. So get out of my bloody way!" She moved away from his crypt door and let him walk out with his bags. He was right. There was nothing she could say to make him change his mind. "What about me?" she yelled out at him. "Don't I get a good-bye?" "Good-bye Slayer!" he yelled angrily to her.  
  
Spike headed over to the Summers' house, hoping that Dawn would be there. Dawn was inside the house having a hard time with her algebra homework when she heard a knock on the door. When she opened the door she was surprised to see Spike standing on the other end. 'Since when did Spike knock?' "Aren't you going to let me in?" "Spike, you know, you've already been invited." "Yeah, I know; just bein' polite," he said as he walked in. The truth was that he honestly didn't know if Buffy had disinvited him after the 'break-up.'  
  
Finally Dawn noticed that Spike was carrying bags. "What's in the bags?" "My stuff." "But why would you..." Then she understood. "Are you leavin' town?" "Yes, I am, Niblet." "But you can't leave! You promised me that you'll be here to protect me!" "Lil' Bit, you know you're not so much of a Lil' Bit anymore. You don't need my protection now." "Maybe not, but you're my friend." "I'll write. Hell, I might even call" ('and hope that Buffy doesn't answer the phone').  
  
"Spike, why are you leavin?" When he hesitated to answer, Dawn said. "It was Buffy wasn't it? She finally drove you out, huh? Did you tell you to leave. Because you know, you've never been one to do what Buffy tells you. I guess something's we have in common," she said trying to lighten to situation. He almost worked as Spike smiled at her before he got sad again and said, "No, she didn't tell me to go. It my decision." "But it was because of her, isn't it? What happened between you two?" 'Now how am I supposed to answer that' Spike thought. 'Say, she used me for sex, beat me up, and then threw me away like yesterday's garbage. Oh and by the way, I called her an animal and demon, told her she belonged in the dark with me, and tried to separate her from all her friends.'  
  
"What went down between me and Big Sis is none of your business." "Sorry, I just..." "I meant...how would you feel if you had nasty relationship with someone and then someone else wants to you to tell them all about it?" 'OK, that sounded bloody stupid!' "I would be happy to have someone to talk about my troubles with." "But with if the person you're telling your troubles to is the sister of the person who you had a nasty relationship with and you don't get her in the middle of it?" Spike didn't want Dawn to have to choose sides. If she had choosen Buffy's side, Spike would have gotten hurt. But if she had choosen his side, Spike would have felt guilty about the sisters being mad at eachother. "Oh., I understand." "Wait, a minute. Did you just say relationship?" 'Ooops.' "Not that kind of relationship, Niblet." "OK, right," she said not believing him.  
  
"Well, I suppose I should be leaving now." Spike didn't know if he should hug her or not, but he finally decided to give her a good-bye hug. "Bye, Niblet." "Bye, Spike," she said sadly. He went to walk out the door when suddenly he remembered something. "Oh wait, I almost forgot," he said as pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Here," he said as he handed it to her. "Tell, the whelp that I will miss insulting and making his life a living hell. Tell the demon girl that I wish her lots of money and happiness with someone who is much better than the whelp. Tell Red that I wish her luck in the whole not using magic thing and hopes that she gets back together with Glindda. Tell Glinda that I wish her the best and that I've finally fixed my cramp problem. She'll know what that means."  
  
Dawn looked at him and said, "Don't you want me to tell Buffy anything for you?" "Already said my good-bye to her." "Was she happy or disappointed to see you go?" "Oh she was happy to see me go," he lied. "I think she's gonna a huge bloody party to celebrate." "I doubt that Spike. She doesn't hate you as much as you think she does." "Yeah, she does," he sad sadly. They said their good-byes again and then he went out the door.  
  
Author's Note: My chapter titles are most likely going to be stupid and pathetic, but oh well. So, um, read on, if you want to find out if Spike really leaves town or if Buffy stops him. 


	3. It's About Bloody Time That Beat Up Car ...

Chapter 3: It's About Bloody Time That Beat Up Car Broke Down  
  
Spike sadly walked away from the Summers' house and got his DeSota from the car lot where he had parked it and drove away from Sunnydale for what he thought was going to be the last time. His eyes teared up and he tried not to cry. 'I'm not going to cry. I'm the Big Bad, not some bloody poofter'. He was going to miss Dawn, and even though he was leaving because she treated him badly, he was going to miss Buffy too. He was even going to miss Willow, Anya and Tara. But no, he was not going to miss Xander. At least that's what he kept telling himself.  
  
Buffy was out on patrol alone. She was mad at Spike because of his departure. "How dare he just up and leave like that! After he told me that he'd never leave me like the others did. The nerve of that creep!" "Hey, Slayer, don't take out your boy troubles on me!" a vampire yelled at her right before Buffy dusted him. Then Buffy continued her rant. "They all just up and leave. Every man in my life leaves me. My dad, Angel, Riley, and now Spike." Then suddendly she stopped herself. "Wait a minute, I loved Angel, Riley and my dad, but I don't even love Spike." Buffy couldn't figure out if she was angry that Spike left because it meant that another guy had abandoned her or if it was something else. "I have got to get home and rest."  
  
Buffy went home to find a crying Dawn on the living room couch. Of course Buffy knew why Dawn was upset. Before she could say anything, Dawn looked at her and asked angrily, "What did you do to him?" "Dawn, I didn't do anything to him," she answered calmly. 'Nothing except use him as my sex toy and beat the shit out of him.' "Well, you must done something really bad to finally drive him out of town." "Dawn, happened between me and Spike is private. It's not stuff that I think you should know." "Yeah, that's what he said too," Dawn said disappointed that she wasn't getting any answers. "Then he was right," Buffy said not believing that she actually admitted that Spike had said something that was right."Were you two in a relationship?" Dawn asked her. "No, of course not. Why would you think that?" Buffy asked nervously. "Well, Spike kinda, accidently let it slip out." 'Damn!'  
  
"Dawn, I'll just tell you this much about the situation and you'll just have to accept this. Me and Spike both did some pretty nasty things to each other. We both said some things that we shouldn't have said. I know you'll miss him, Dawn. And I hate to admit this, but I think I'm going to miss him too. But it's better this way, for him. He needed to leave, to go out and find his real purpose of existence. He wasn't happy here. It would've only gotten worse if he'd have stayed." Dawn sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right," Dawn said but she wasn't sure if she believed that this was for the best; neither did Buffy.  
  
The next day Dawn and Buffy informed the rest of the Scoobs of Spike's departure, without gving any details on the reason why he left. Xander was happy; Anya, Willow and Tara were a little sad, but not too upset. Dawn even read from Spike's note telling them the things he wanted them to hear. They were all touched. Well, except for Xander of course.  
  
Tara, who was the only one who knew the truth about Buffy and Spike's relationship, (Of course, Dawn's suspects it) took Buffy aside to talk to her in private. "How are you taking Spike leaving?" "I'm OK, really. I mean, I didn't love him." "Yeah, I know, but..." "I got over Angel and Riley leaving, I can definitely get over Spike." Tara hoped that Buffy was right.  
  
About a weak later, while Spike was still on the road, the DeSota droke down. "Bloody hell!" he yelled as his car just stopped in the middle of the street. Fortunately, it was at night and he wasn't on a highway. He got out of the car and miraculously managed to push the car to the side on the road without being hit by the other cars. Then he walked to the nearest gas station to call a tow truck to get his car and take it to the mechanics.  
  
What Spike didn't know was that he was being watched by vampires. The leader was a female named Zieda. She had 3 minions with her. They knew who Spike was and wanted him dust. They even came up with a good plan on how to do that. The minions came out of nowhere and jumped in front of him. "Hey, Spike, we're vampires. Do you want to kill us?" Carl said. 'Huh?' Spike thought confused. Vampires didn't usually ask him if he wanted to kill them, they just usually said that they were going to kill him. Spike charged at the minions, but instead of fighting they jumped away from him. "You can't kill us here. If the humans see, they will all know vampires exist. You don't want that to happen do you?" asked Tron. 'These minions sure are strange.' Another minion, Mort, yelled at him, "If you want to kill us. Come and get us."  
  
The vamps started running off and Spike ran after them. He needed to kill something to get his mind off of Buffy. He didn't even stop to ponder if this could be a trap. Right as he was about to dust Mort, Zieda, who was hiding in the bushes, shot him in the back with a poisonous arrow. Before Spike could say, 'bloody hell' he fell to the ground unconscious. Zieda and the minions brought him back to their lair and tied him up, although it might not have needed to. The poison from Zieda's arrow would drain Spike of all his vampiric strength, therefore making it a lot harder for him to escape.  
  
Author's Note: Read on to find out what happens to Spike. I'm warning you though, it will shock and possibly disgust you. And you may not like it. 


	4. I Fall To Pieces

Chapter 4: I Fall To Pieces  
  
Spike woke up to find himself tied up in an unfamiliar crypt. "It's about time you woke up, sleeping beauty," Zieda said as she walked towards him. He looked up to see a short female vampire with long red hair. "Who the bloody hell are you? Untie me!" he yelled at her. To Spike's surprise, she just shrugged and said, "OK." She untied Spike's hands and ankles. He immediately started to fight her, thinking that the small girl would be no match for him; but he was wrong. Zieda quickly overpowered him and held both of his arms behind his back with her right hand.  
  
"You're not as strong as you used to be, huh Spikey?" "What the bloody hell did you do to me?!" he yelled at her. "I poisoned you. Took all your vampire strength away. Now you're no stronger than just a mere mortal." "You stupid bloody mother fuckin' bitch!" His insulting curses at her earned him a kick in the balls, and he screamed out in pain. "Minions!" Zieda called and they came. "You creeps again!" "Take him to the dungeon until I'm ready for him," Zieda ordered. "Can we beat him up first?" Carl asked. "Sure. Why not." The minions seemed to get a 'kick' out of hitting a strengthless William the Bloody. Spike fought back, but it didn't help much because now all three vampires were stronger than he was. When they were done with him, they chained him up in the dungeon.  
  
When Zieda was ready for him, she and her minions came into the dungeon. Zieda was carrying a large knife. Spike wasn't surprised, he had already assumed she was going to torture him and he had prepared himself for it. But he had no idea what was really going to happen to him. When Zieda noticed that Spike didn't look scared yet, she only smiled at him.  
  
"So, you think you can handle this, Spikey?" she said as she held the knife up. "I've been tortured before. It's no big deal." "Oh, but this is something that's never happened to you before." She walked up to him with the knife, and to Spike's surprise, she didn't rip his shirt open to start cutting his chest. She held the knife on his left wrist, right above the chains. "So, what do you think boys? Should I just cut the hand off now or..." she said as she smiled at Spike evilly, "should I cut each of his fingers off, one by one?" "Cut his fingers!" yelled Mort.  
  
Spike tried desperately to break free of his chains, but he couldn't. And even if he had, the vampires were still stronger than him; they would restrain him. Spike finally got scared; his fingers were about to be cut off and there was nothing he could do about it. Zieda chopped off the 5 fingers on his left hand with Spike screaming in pain each time, and then cut off his right hand. "What next?" Zieda asked her minions. "The feet!" yelled Tron. Zieda did the same thing to his feet. On one foot, she cut off the toes, and she cut the other foot off entirely.  
  
And there Spike hung from the chains crying, without hands or feet. Zieda and the minions enjoyed watching the traitorous vampire suffer. Zeida gave Spike her evil smile again. "Does your dick still hurt from when I kicked it earlier?" she asked him in a fake sweet voice. "I'll just cut that off and make it all better!" "Oh gawd, please no. No, no. Don't do that. No, please," he protested with complete fear in his eyes. The minions only laughed.  
  
Zieda pulled Spike's black jeans down and held the knife up to his penis and got ready to cut. "No! Please, don't do this. I'll do anything you say. You can take the chip out. I won't be a traitor anymore. I'll kill again. Just please, I beg you, don't do this!" "You say, you'll kill people again?" "Yes. I'll kill 'em all. Just don't cut off my manhood." "Will you kill the Slayer's sister?" The answer of course was no, but he thought of lying about it, but then he realized they would know that he was lying, and could possibly end with Zieda cutting off Dawn's body parts. "No, I won't do that," Spike said and accepted his fate. But that didn't stop him from screaming bloody murder (litterally) during the 'operation'.  
  
Spike coudn't stop screaming and crying over the pain and the loss of his penis. Then Zieda finally cut off one of Spike's ears. It was last because if it wasn't, then Spike wouldn't have been able to hear himself scream as well. She said to him. "I suppose I could let you suffer the rest of eternity with a missing ear and no hands, feet...or sex. But I'm not that mean. And so, I think it's finally time to put you out of your misery." Then she took a stake, plunged it straight through his heart, and then Spike was nothing but a pile of dust.  
  
Author's Note: I thought about calling this chapter 'Chopped Into Bits', but that would have given away too much information, right? Yes, I admit, I'm a sadist. But don't kill me. I had to choose an original way for Spike to be killed before he comes back somehow. I didn't want to do the unoriginal and overused, 'Spike accidently gets stake, or 'Spike dies saving the world' so I chose something that had never been done before despite how disgusting and cruel it was. It was not an easy chapter to write. But if you thought it was funny, then poop on you! (OK, actually I did think it was a little funny.) Read on to find out how the Scoobs react when they learn of Spike's demise. 


	5. Spike In A Box

Chapter 5: Spike In A Box  
  
Zieda decided to keep Spike's hand and foot as a trophy to honor her defeat over him. She decided to take the fingers, toes, ear, and penis to the Summers' house. She put his body parts wth a note in a cardboard box, and wrote something on top of it. She had the minions bring the box to the house, knock on the door and then run out of sight.  
  
Buffy was out patrolling, Willow and Tara had made up and were out on a date; so Dawn was the only one home. "Hello?" she said as she opened the door. "No one's here." She started to walk back inside, until she noticed the box on the ground. "What's this?" she said and then picked it up. 'To the lovely Summers women, from Spike' was written on the the box. Dawn was excited to be getting something from Spike...until she opened the box to find out that it was actually somethings of Spike. She screamed, read the note, and dropped the box.  
  
Buffy came home to find Dawn sitting on the couch looking traumatized. "Dawn what's wrong?" Dawn didn't move or talk. "Dawn?" Buffy said again concerned. "What's this?" Buffy asked noticing the box on the floor. "I don't think you wanna look in there," Dawn finally said. "Why not?" Buffy said as she picked up the box. She looked in the box and screamed just like Dawn had. She picked up the note and read it. "Here are some parts of your pet vampire. Don't worry, he won't need these, now that he is just a pile of dust." Buffy took a quick glance at one of the parts and remembered what Spike had said to her on the day he left. 'Or is it because you still need my penis to make you feel alive?' Well, now she had it.  
  
It took Dawn just a little while longer to get over the shock of seeing her friend's body parts, and then she finally reached the stage of crying over the fact that her friend was now dust. Buffy hugged her and tried to comfort her, but she was also feeling sad herself. Suddenly Dawn turned angry and got out of her sister's embrace." "This is all your fault Buffy," she said. "Dawn..." "If you hadn't have made him leave this wouldn't have happened." "Dawn, you know I didn't make him leave. And we don't know that it wouldn't have happened if he was still here." "It wouldn't. You could've protected him, stopped whoever did this before it happpened. Or even if you couldn't, what if, Spike just gave up and didn't fight because he didn't care, because he thought you hated him."  
  
Buffy had the same thoughts that Dawn had, but she sure was not going to admit it. "Dawn, I know that you're hurting with this loss, but you can't blame me for this. It's not my fault." "He took care of me and looked after me while you were gone. He was the only one who treated me like I wasn't a baby. I loved him like a brother, and now..." "I know Dawn, I know." Buffy hugged Dawn again while she cried. "And I'm gonna find out who did this to him. And I can guarantee you that they won't get off easily." "But it won't bring him back. Nothing will." But there were people who could bring him back: The Powers That Be.  
  
Willow and Tara came home all giddy because they had a wonderful time on their date. But then they saw Dawn crying on the couch and Buffy who also looked sad, trying to comfort her. "What's wrong?" Tara asked concerned. "Spike...he's...he's..." Dawn started. "He was dusted," Buffy told them. "And before he was...um...well...cut up. They thought it would be real funny if they sent us part of him," she said as she pointed to the box. "But you probably don't wanna look in there." The four girls sat sadly on the couch together to grieve.  
  
Willow soon called Anya and Xander and they came over too. (Not together of course, because they're still mad at each other.) "This is utterly disgusting," Anya said as she looked in the box. "And sad. It's sad too," she added after she saw the look that the other girls were giving her. "How do we know these are Spike's parts?" Xander asked. "How do we know, that this isn't just some dirty trick he's pulling? Might of killed someone, sent his parts to us and claimed they were his, so that we would think he's dust and not go after him." "Xander!" Dawn yelled. "He would never do that." "Right, because of that chip in his head. He could have had it taken out." "Xander," Buffy said quietly. "They're his." "How would you know that?" "I know because...." she trailed. "Oh," Xander said as the lightbulb went above his head.  
  
"Buffy how could you?" he then said. "He was an evil thing!" "Xander, Dawn's hurting. This is definitely not the time to be judging Buffy. Wait. Actually there is no time for that. It's her life and she can do whatever she wants with it," Willow scolded him. "Thank you, Willow." Buffy said. "Now we're gonna hafta to find out who did this and then we'll ..." "Buffy," Xander started again. "Look, I know he was your boyfriend, but he was evil. Why should we..."  
  
"He wasn't my boyfriend," Buffy told Xander defensively. "But he was my friend ('even if he never knew') and Dawns. And yes, he's a vampire, and he was evil. However ... well ... my job as a Slayer is to dust vampires. Not to cut off their body parts, beat them or torture them. Even I know that's extreme harsh cruelty." 'But you did torture him Buffy! You did!' the voices in her head were saying.' "Nobody, not human, animal, or even vampire deserves what he went through." Xander thought about that for a minute. Sure, he couldn't say that he wasn't happy that Spike was dust. However, even he couldn't bring himself to laugh when he pictured the bleached vampire getting chopped up. "Yeah, I think you're right," he finally said. "So let's find this asshole and kick his ass!" Anya said. "All in favor of finding the Spike killer and kicking ass say 'I'" Buffy said. "I!" they all said. "Alright, then it's settled."  
  
Author's Note: Poor Dawnie! Thinking she's getting a present from Spike, only to see his body parts and find out he's chopped up and dusted. And Xander! What he said wasn't very nice, was it? Yes, I know I promised I was going to bring Spike back, and I will. Be patient. OK, I'll tell ya now. That happens in the next chapter. Read it to find out how and why. 


	6. The Place Of Judgement

Chapter 6: The Place Of Judgement  
  
After Xander and Anya had left, Dawn went to talk to Buffy privately. "Buffy?" she said. "Yeah, Dawn?" "I think it's great that you're defending Spike in front of Xander, and that you're trying to find his killer, but....Why did you have sex with him if he wasn't your boyfriend?" "Dawn, it's complicated....and private, which I already told you." "That's why he left isn't it? Because you used him?"  
  
"Dawn I....did use him. But I also eventually told him that I was sorry for it and that it was wrong. But he wasn't completely innocent either. Spike, he...let's just say, he had a big mouth. He said some hurtful things to me. But I can't....you know, how you can't say a bad word about anyone after they're dead even though they were far from perfect?" "Yeah," Dawn nodded. "Well, it's like that now. I wanna defend myself and I should, but he's dust. And it just seems so wrong."  
  
"You know you said that Spike didn't deserve the torture his killer put him through?" Dawn said. "Yeah." "But he's still being tortured. He's a vampire. He's in some hell dimension with eternal torture. He doesn't deserve that fate." "I know that Dawnie. And I'll admit now, that I do actually feel a little guilty about this. But the truth is, there's nothing I can I do about it. The only thing I can do, is find this evil lunatic and hope that his hell is dimension ten times worse than Spike's."  
  
"Do you think Drusilla could have done it?" Dawn asked. "Why do you think she did it?" "You did say 'evil lunatic' and well, she is evil and she's looney." "True, but I dunno." "And it makes perfect sense," Dawn continued. If she was the attacker, he wouldn't have fought back too hard, because he used to love her." "Well, we'll definitely put her on the list of suspects."  
  
Dawn went to bed that night thinking of poor Spike being tortured in hell. But when Spike woke up, he was surprised to find that he wasn't in Hell, but it didn't look like he was in Heaven either. "He was laid on a real nice comfy bed, but it didn't look like he was in heaven either. He saw two people, a man and a woman, in robes. "Why aren't I in hell?" he asked them confused. "Would you like to be in Hell?" the man asked him not very nicely. "Because that can be arranged right now." "No, no, that's OK. It's kinda nice here. I like the bed."  
  
"Well, you can't stay here on this bed forever," the man told him. "OK, so this must be like, a place of judgement and you two must be the Oracles." "You are correct, vampire," the woman told him. "Alright then, so judge me," he said as he laid back down on the bed, assuming it would be his last time to be comfortable. "We are not the ones who can do that," the woman told Spike. "But if I was," the man started. "I would send your scrawny, little, pale, no-good evil ass to hell right now."  
  
Spike decided to ignore the man's insults and asked the woman, "So who is going to judge me then?" "The Powers That Be," she answered. "Right. I knew that. Have they made their decision yet?" "Yes, they have. And now it's time for you to make yours?" "Huh?" Spike was confused. "Yours is a special case, vampire." "But it shouldn't be. He should just go straight down to Hell." "I wouldn't talk against the Powers' decision if I were you," the woman said and that shut him up.  
  
The woman continued. "You are special because you are the only vampire to ever exist who cared for and loved human beings without a soul. Your ultimate death was caused by your love for one of those humans." "Are you saying I might get to go to heaven?" "No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that you have been given two choices. The first is to go to Hell." "I don't think I like that choice. Give me the second." But before the woman could continue, Spike said, "Aren't Heaven and Hell the only choices? You're gonna send me back aren't you?"  
  
"Yes. Going back to Earth is the second choice." "Alright then, back I go," he said getting out of the bed. "But there is a catch to it," the man informed him. "If you are sent back to Earth you will be a human, not a vampire." "Bugger. I just spent some time on earth with just human strength. I didn't fancy it much." "Then you're saying you'll go to Hell then?" the man asked hopefully. "I didn't say that!" "There is more Spike," the woman told him. "Not only would you be a human, but you will have no memories of your time spent on Earth as Spike or William."  
  
"Bloody hell!" Spike said. "A human with amnesia." "Would you like to go to that bloody hell? Now's your chance." "Hey! I am getting sick and tired of you and your..." "Silence, vampire!" the woman ordered him. "Sit down." Spike did as he was told. Then the woman turned to speak to the man. "One more nasty comment from you, and I'll report your behavior to the powers." The man was quiet. "Men," the woman muttered and shook her head at the males' immature behavior.  
  
She turned to face Spike again. "Now as I was saying. You will be human and you will not have any memories of being Spike or William, but you will not have amnesia. You will be given a new life, a new name, and a new family complete with all the false memories. And you will never, I repeat, never, remember your former existence." "So it's kinda like Dawn then, huh?" Spike said finally understanding. "In a way, yes I suppose it is. Spike, if you take this choice, you will be given a chance to live out a nice life as a good person. Then when you die, your final placement will be based on your new life alone. Nothing you did as Spike or William will matter. Also think about this. You will be getting a soul, but unlike Angelus you will not have to tortured by the all the bad memories. Which means no brooding for you."  
  
"I like that last part but, will I get to know my new life now? How will I know that The Powers aren't gonna send me back as a criminal just for the fun of it. How do I know that The Powers aren't laughing somewhere saying 'Spike was an evil vampire who killed all the time, let's tell him he'll get sent back to Earth as a human with a chance of being good, but we're really gonna send him back as a serial killer. Won't that be funny?' Or what if they make me a homeless bum with no job or family?" "You will not know. That's a risk that you will have to take. It's a gamble Spike."  
  
Spike thought about it for a second. He figured that he probably had a very good chance at getting a life that was better than Hell. And he might even get a chance to go to Heaven. "Alright then. I'm a gambler." The woman handed him a scroll and a pen. "Sign this," she told him. Spike scanned the scroll. It said the exact same things that the woman had told him. He picked up the pen. "Good-bye, Buffy," he said as he signed his contract. Then he fell into a deep sleep. When he wakes up, he will not be Spike anymore.  
  
Author's Note: I'd like to point out that these are not the same Oracles that appeared on 'Angel' Season 1, because they were killed. They're new Oracles that I made. I kinda like that woman Oracle bossing the guys around. And I know some people may not like the idea of 'Spike not being Spike anymore', but keep in mind that just because the Oracles claim that he will never get his old memories back, that doesn't mean that they are right. Maybe eventually he'll find out who he is/was or maybe not. Heck, I don't even know. But I do know I'm not gonna do the old 'he hits his head on a pole and all the memories come flooding back'. If I can't come up with something I like then he won't, but if can then most likely yes. And after how horribly mean I was to Spike in Chapter 4, I think I was extremely nice to him in this chapter. He's getting a pretty darn good deal, doncha think? And admit it, you want to know what his new family will be like and what his new job will be. But I probably won't get into that in the next chapter. It will be focusing mostly on Buffy trying to find the Spike killer. See what happens when she wrongfully accused Drusilla of the crime. 


	7. Funeral For A Hamster

Author's Note: I'm gonna go ahead and tell you that I completely suck at writing Drusilla. She's just not an easy character, and I'm really not that good at it, so it may not even seem like her. Just thought you should know. Also, the summary is somewhat of an attention getter. The concept isn't much different than that of others; however, there is a slight difference. That's the the part in the last chapter that says instead of coming back as a human with all his memories or with amnesia where he wonders around trying to figure out who he is. He's a human with false memories with a new life and a new family. [I have yet to find a Spike story where that is the case. If there is one out there, I'd like to know so that I can contrast and compare, and of course, admit my mistake.] But that doesn't mean this new life won't invlove Buffy in some way, because it will. But will they be together as a couple by the end of the story? I honestly haven't decided yet.  
  
Chapter 7: Funeral For A Hamster  
  
The Oracles stared at the sleeping vampire. The man was still upset. "I still think this is crazy!" he said. "He's an evil vampire! He should have gone straight to hell!" "That is not for us to decide," the woman said. At that instint, Spike disappeared and was sent back to Earth to start his new life.  
  
The next night, Buffy and the Scoobs went out to patrol, but to also look for Spike's killer. Drusilla was the only suspect that they had so far, but they didn't know where she was. "Let's go ask Clem if he knows anything," Buffy suggested. When they got to Clem's 'house' they were not surprised to see Spike's poker buddy looking sad. But they were surprised to see him confomting a crying Drusilla.  
  
"I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say that Drusilla's innocent," Anya said. Drusilla looked up at the Scoobies with anger in her eyes. "You thought that I did this. How dare you!" "Well, you are a lunatic and only a insane thing would do something like that," Buffy defended their suspicion. "I might do that to a human, but not to Spike." "Right, because we all know how much you loved him and cared for him." "I did care about him. More than you ever did!"  
  
"You broke his heart and left him for a chaos demon." "At least I did that after I knew he was in love with you! And unlike some girls who use the men that love them as sex toys and punching bags. Look in the mirror, Slayer. Vampires aren't the only monsters out there." Buffy knew Drusilla had a point, but she wasn't going to admit that. "How would you know what me and Spike did?" "The stars told me." "The stars told you? Well, how come the stars didn't tell you that your dress went out of style, like a hundred years ago?!"  
  
Buffy and Drusilla looked ready to have a huge fight when Clem said, "Girls settle down now. Look, we're all sad that Spike is gone..." "I'm not," Xander interrupted him and Dawn made a face at him and Clem continued. "So let's just all act civil to eachother." "I think Clem is right," Willow said. "We're never gonna find the killer if we're all arguing in here."  
  
"Drusilla, did...um," Tara started. "..the stars tell you who killed Spike?" "Yes, they did." "Then who was it?" "It was a girl. A redhead." They all instictivly looked at Willow. "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't do it." "A vampire. She was short. Her and her three minions captured her. I wanted to stop her. But I would't have made it in time." "I don't understand," Dawn said. "It was only 4 vamps. Spike should've been able to stop them." "They weakened him. Made him like mortal. He wasn't strong enough to get away." "That is just soo...The cowards! Knew they wouldn't get him at full strength so they cheated!" Xander didn't understand how Buffy could get so mad at something as 'unimportant' as Spike's death.  
  
"Where is she?" Buffy finally calmed herself down and asked. "She was in Kansas. I'll take you there." "Alright then. Let's go," Buffy said. "What?!" Xander said. "Buff, you can't be serious. Going all the way to Kansas with Drusilla to avenge Spike's death! You've got to be as crazy as she is! How can you even trust her? How do we know she's not working for them, and this is some kind of trap?" The truth was that Buffy didn't really trust Drusilla. However, she could finally tell that Drusilla was sincerely sad about Spike's death and was on their side right now. "Because we both did care for Spike, in some way or another, and want this chick to pay. We're in this together."  
  
The next day, Buffy and Drusilla headed for Kansas. When they got there, it didn't take long for Drusilla to spot Mort. "That's one of her minions," she told them. Buffy quickly knocked Mort unconscioius and dragged him to the little shack that they were staying in. "Alright, tell me where your leader is," Buffy said to him. "No! I'll never tell!" "Have it your way then," she said picking up a knife. "I'll just do to you what she did to Spike." "OK, OK, I'll take you to her."  
  
Mort led them to Zieda's crypt and then they staked him immediately. "Hello, slayer," Zieda said when she noticed her intruders. "I was wondering when you'd get here. But I didn't expect to see you," she said to Drusilla. Zieda took out her crossbow ready to poison them, but Buffy jumped on her and knocked it out of her hands. "You're a coward you know that?" Buffy yelled at her. "You know you weren't good enough to get Spike at his full strength, so you had to poison him," Buffy said repeating what she said the previous day. "I'm not the only one who cheats, Slayer. You have witches working with you. They're the ultimate cheaters."  
  
Zieda was right, but that wasn't the point, the point was that Zieda had killed Spike and Buffy was not going to allow her to live, so she put the stake straight through her heart. Meanwhile, Drusilla had staked the other two minions. On their way back to Sunnydale, Buffy and Drusilla made a truce to not kill each other. Right after they had gotten back to Sunnydale, Dawn asked her sister. "Buffy, what should we do with the body parts?" Buffy thought about it for a moment. "We'll bury them," she said. "and give him a funeral."  
  
The next day, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Anya, Tara, Clem, Drusilla, and Xander gathered in the Summers back yard for the funeral. The laid the box on the ground, and said some their goodbyes to him. Even Xander, who simply said, "Good-bye Spike," without showing any emotion.  
  
Then Buffy digged a hole in the ground and the two young boys who lived next door could see what was going on. "I'm sorry your pet died. What type of animal was he?" the nice one asked. "Spike was...a...uh..." Buffy didn't know what to say. "He was a hamster," Dawn told them. "No, he was a rat," Xander said. "Hamster!" "Rat!" "Can I see him before you bury him?" "No!" Buffy screamed at him and the boy looked scared. "I mean, um...he needs to rest in peace." "You people are weird!" the mean one said. "I'm glad we're moving away." Then the boys disappeared back into the house to pack while Buffy burried 'Spike.'  
  
Then they all walked away thinking that Spike was gone forever. Except Drusilla, who was very confused. The stars had just told her that Spike was coming back, but that it might not really be Spike.  
  
Author's Note: I kinda liked Buffy and Drusilla working together there to avenge Spike's death. It wanted to make in quick though, so I could get on with bringing Spike back. Read the next chapter to find out all about his new life. PS: Who do you think is gonna move into the house next door when those boys move away? 


End file.
